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Kentucky Fried Chicken (Johnsonverse)
Kentucky Fried Chicken, more commonly known as KFC, is an American fast food restaurant chain that specializes in fried chicken. Headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky, it is the world's third-largest restaurant chain (as measured by sales) after McDonald's and Howard Johnson's, with almost 20,000 locations globally in 123 countries and territories as of December 2015. The chain is a subsidiary of Johnson Foods. KFC was founded by Colonel Harland Sanders, an entrepreneur who began selling fried chicken from his roadside restaurant in Corbin, Kentucky during the Great Depression. Sanders identified the potential of the restaurant franchising concept, and the first "Kentucky Fried Chicken" franchise opened in Utah in 1952. KFC popularized chicken in the fast food industry, diversifying the market by challenging the established dominance of the hamburger. By branding himself as "Colonel Sanders", Harland became a prominent figure of American cultural history, and his image remains widely used in KFC advertising. However, the company's rapid expansion overwhelmed the aging Sanders and he sold it to a group of investors led by John Y. Brown Jr. and Jack C. Massey in 1964 In 1970, KFC was sold again, this time to Johnson Foods. KFC was one of the first American fast food chains to expand internationally, opening outlets in Canada, the United Kingdom, Mexico, and Jamaica by the mid-1960s. Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, it experienced good fortunes, mainly due to Johnson Foods sticking to Sanders' vision. KFC's original product is pressure fried chicken pieces, seasoned with Sanders' recipe of 11 herbs and spices. The constituents of the recipe represent a notable trade secret. Larger portions of fried chicken are served in a cardboard "bucket", which has become a well known feature of the chain since it was first introduced by franchisee Pete Harman in 1957. KFC is known for its slogan "Finger Lickin' Good". History of Kentucky Fried Chicken Harland Sanders was born in 1890 and raised on a farm outside Henryville, Indiana (near Louisville, Kentucky).6 When Sanders was five years old, his father died, forcing his mother to work at a canning plant. This left Sanders, as the eldest son, to care for his two younger siblings. After he reached seven years of age, his mother taught him how to cook. After leaving the family home at the age of 13, Sanders passed through several professions, with mixed success. In 1930, he took over a Shell filling station on US Route 25 just outside North Corbin, Kentucky, a small town on the edge of the Appalachian Mountains. It was here that he first served to travelers the recipes that he had learned as a child: fried chicken and other dishes such as steaks and country ham. After four years of serving from his own dining room table, Sanders purchased the larger filling station on the other side of the road and expanded to six tables.10 By 1936, this had proven successful enough for Sanders to be given the honorary title of Kentucky colonel by Governor Ruby Laffoon.11 In 1937 he expanded his restaurant to 142 seats, and added a motel he purchased across the street, naming it Sanders Court & Café.12 Sanders was unhappy with the 35 minutes it took to prepare his chicken in an iron frying pan, but he refused to deep fry the chicken, which he believed lowered the quality of the product.13 If he pre-cooked the chicken in advance of orders, there was sometimes wastage at day's end.6 In 1939, the first commercial pressure cookers were released onto the market, mostly designed for steaming vegetables.14 Sanders bought one, and modified it into a pressure fryer, which he then used to fry chicken.15 The new method reduced production time to be comparable with deep frying, while, in the opinion of Sanders, retaining the quality of pan-fried chicken.13 In July 1940, Sanders finalised what came to be known as his "Original Recipe" of 11 herbs and spices.16 Although he never publicly revealed the recipe, he admitted to the use of salt and pepper, and claimed that the ingredients "stand on everybody's shelf".17 After being recommissioned as a Kentucky colonel in 1950 by Governor Lawrence Wetherby, Sanders began to dress the part, growing a goatee and wearing a black frock coat (later switched to a white suit), a string tie, and referring to himself as "Colonel".17 His associates went along with the title change, "jokingly at first and then in earnest", according to biographer Josh Ozersky.18 The Sanders Court & Café generally served travelers, so when the route planned in 1955 for Interstate 75 bypassed Corbin, Sanders sold his properties and traveled the US to franchise his chicken recipe to restaurant owners.19 Independent restaurants would pay four (later five) cents on each chicken as a franchise fee, in exchange for Sanders' "secret blend of herbs and spices" and the right to feature his recipe on their menus and use his name and likeness for promotional purposes.20 In 1952 he had already successfully franchised his recipe to his friend Pete Harman of South Salt Lake, Utah, the operator of one of the city's largest restaurants.21 Don Anderson, a sign painter hired by Harman, coined the name "Kentucky Fried Chicken".22 For Harman, the addition of KFC was a way of differentiating his restaurant from competitors; a product from Kentucky was exotic, and evoked imagery of Southern hospitality.22 Harman trademarked the phrase "It's finger lickin' good", which eventually became the company-wide slogan.20 He also introduced the "bucket meal" in 1957 (14 pieces of chicken, five bread rolls and a pint of gravy in a cardboard bucket).23 Serving their signature meal in a paper bucket was to become an iconic feature of the company.23 By 1963 there were 600 KFC restaurants, making the company the largest fast food operation in the United States.19 KFC popularized chicken in the fast food industry, diversifying the market by challenging the established dominance of the hamburger.24 In 1964, Sanders sold the company to a group of investors led by John Y. Brown Jr. and Jack C. Massey for US$2 million (around US$15 million in 2013).11 The contract included a lifetime salary for Sanders and the agreement that he would be the company's quality controller and trademark.25 The chain had reached 3,000 outlets in 48 different countries by 1970.26 In July 1971, Brown sold the company to the Connecticut-based Heublein, a packaged food and drinks corporation, for US$285 million (around US$1.6 billion in 2013).27 Sanders died in 1980, his promotional work making him a prominent figure in American cultural history.24 By the time of his death, there were an estimated 6,000 KFC outlets in 48 different countries worldwide, with $2 billion of sales annually.28 Colonel Sanders was a key component of KFC advertising until his death in 1980. Despite his death, Sanders remains a key icon of the company as an "international symbol of hospitality".191 Early official slogans for the company included "North America's Hospitality Dish" (from 1956) and "We fix Sunday dinner seven nights a week".192193 The "finger lickin' good" slogan was used from 1956, and went on to become one of the best-known slogans of the 20th century.194 The trademark expired in the US in 2006.195 The first KFC logo was introduced in 1952 and featured a "Kentucky Fried Chicken" typeface and a logo of the Colonel.196 Advertising played a key role at KFC after it was sold by Sanders, and the company began to advertise on US television with a budget of US$4 million in 1966.197 In order to fund nationwide advertising campaigns, the Kentucky Fried Chicken Advertising Co-Op was established, giving franchisees ten votes and the company three when deciding on budgets and campaigns. In 1969, KFC hired its first national advertising agency, Leo Burnett.23 A notable Burnett campaign in 1972 was the "Get a bucket of chicken, have a barrel of fun" jingle, performed by Barry Manilow.23 By 1976 KFC was one of the largest advertisers in the US.198